Clamp fob railway-car wheels



NOV. 5, 1929. Q BRASEL 1,734,792

CLAMP FOR RAILWAY CAR WHEELS Filed July 26. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet, l

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INVENTOR. 7. ({Bras eZ A TTORNEY.

NOV. 5, 1929. Q BRASEL 1,734,792

CLAMP FOR RAILWAY CAR WHEELS Filed July 26. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 1 w I l I I INVENTOR,

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Patented Nov. 5, 1929 UNITED if;

PATENT CLAMP FOR RAILWAY-CAB WHEELS Application filed July 26,

This invention relates to clamps used for clamping the wheel of a railway car to the track where it is desired to prevent the car from shifting along the track in either direction as, for instance, when the car is unloading upon an incline or when a journal box is raised to remove and apply journal bearings on loaded freight or passenger cars.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a construction of this character which is so formed that it may be quickly applied or removed and its application does not place the hands, feet or body of the operator in danger if the car should be struck by other cars or moved in either direction on the track while it is being placed in position.

A further object is to provide a clamp of this character which is adapted to be engaged with wheels of dilferent thickness of rim or tread.

A still further object is to provide a device of this character in which the several parts are conveniently connected to each other so as to prevent the parts being lost when not in use.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accom panying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a sectional view of a wheel and rail with my rail clamp shown thereon, the clamp being partially broken away;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the wheel and rail with the rail clamp in elevation;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the rail clamp;

Figure 1 is an edge elevation of the same; Figure 5 is a top plan view of the shiftable block forming the jaw of the clamp;

Figure 6 is a side elevation thereof; Figure 7 is a perspective View of the block; Figure 8 is a side elevation of the wedge; Figure 9 is a view of the cotter pin. Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that my improved car wheel clamp includes an arcuate clamping member 10. This member at its ends is angularly bent, as at 11, so that this member may rest over the ball or head of a rail and extend down on the inside 1927. Serial No. 208,633.

face of the head, as shown in Figure 1. At the middle this arcuate member has attached to it the U-shaped eye 12 attached by means of the rivets 13, this U-shaped eye defining a vertically extending opening.

Coacting with this arcuate clamping member 10 is a rail and wheel engaging member 14 which is formed of steel or other like metal, which is relatively wide and heavy, and which is angularly bent at its upper end at 15 to form a jaw engageable withthe wheel rim and at its lower end is angularly bent, as at 16, to form an elongated jaw longer than the jaw 15 and adapted to extend beneath the head of the rail B nearly to the web 6 thereof.

Pivotally mounted upon the upper face of this jaw 16 is a block, designated generally 17. This block has a stepped formation so as to provide three surfaces 18, 19 and 20, these surfaces being spaced from each other approximately half an inch. This block is pivotally mounted upon the jaw by means of the rivet or other like means so that the block may be turned or shifted so as to bring any one of its faces 18, 19 or 20 into engagement beneath the head of the rail. The block is )referably cruciform in plan, as illustrated in igure 5. When the block is turned in one position, the face 18 will be engaged against the end face of the head of the rail, in another position the face 19 will be so engaged, and in another position the face 20 will be engaged and when the block is turned into an upright position, the jaw 16 may engage with the head of the rail.

It will thus be seen that if the wheel rim is relatively thin, the block. will be so shifted that the face 18 will engage beneath the head of the rail, and if it is very thick the upper face of the jaw 16 will engage against the head of the rail, and that by adjusting the block intermediate thicknesses of wheel rim may be accommodated. When the head of the rail is engaged by the jaw 16 or by one of the faces of the block 17 which forms part of this jaw, the upper aw 15 will be engaged over the rim, as shown in Figure 1.

For the purpose of forcing the member 14 toward the wheel and rail and holding it in its clamping position against any danger of slipping ofi, I provide the wedge 21. This wedge is longitudinally slotted, as at 22, for nearly its entire length. The wedge is slotted for the purpose of embracing a connecting member formed by a bolt 23. This bolt passes through the eye of the yoke 12 and into a screw-threaded aperture 24 formed in the member. 14. The bolt is simply; for the purpose of holding the member 14 to the member 10 so that the parts maybe handled as one piece when putting it in position. Preferably the member 14 is formed with a plurality of these openings 24 as, for instance, two openings as illustrated soas to permit the member 14 to be adjusted up or down with relation to the clamping member 10. In order to, preventthe loss of the wedge 21when thiswedge is not in use, I preferably provide thewedge witha cotter pinopening 25 and provide member14 with a cotter pin opening 26 so that when the wedge is foroedfully downward, a cotter pin 27 (shown in Figure 9) maybe inserted'through these two openings25, and 26 and will hold the wedge from detachment from the. member 14.

The use of this device will be obvious from what has gone before. lVhen it is desired to use the clamp, the cotter pin 27 is removed, thus freeing the wedge, the wedge is raised, and the two, arms of the member 10 are in serted between the wheel and the rail on each side ofthelowest point of the wheel, as shown in Figure 2. The member 14,is.then adjusted so, that its upper jaw will engage over the upper face of the wheel rim A: and the lower aw engage beneath the headof the rail B and then the, wedge 21 is driven downward until the parts are firmly clamped in position. The slotted wedge will take. up all slack caused by different positionsin which the. wheel may stand. on the rail due to curvature. in the track. The U-shaped clamp 14 holds the wheel down to the rail and the adjustable block 17 can be adjusted to four different positions to meet requirements due .to different thickness of wheel parts. The position shown in the draw ing gives a three-inch space which accommodates the thinnest wheel tread, and each different position of the, block increases by half inch steps up to four and a half inches, which accommodates the thickest wheel tread.

A wheel clampiofthe character described has been given thorough tests and has not failed in. any. instance to meet the service for which it is intended. It requires on an average, of about thirty seconds to apply or remove and in its application the. hands, feet or other part ofthe body of the operator are placed'in no jeopardy even if the car be, ac-

cidentally shifted in either direction on the track while the device is being put in place.

While I have illustrated certain arrangement of. parts and details of: construction which I believeto be particularly effective, I do. not. Wish to belimited to this asmany changes might be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim 1. A wheel. clamp of the character described comprising an arcuate rail-engaging member having downwardly turned ends, the member being adapted to be disposed over the head of the rail with ends bea ing against the, inside face of said head, a vertically extending rail-engaging clamp disposed inward of the bight portionof the rail-engaging member and having an upper jaw adapted to engageovera wheel rim and a lower aw adaptd to engage beneath the head of a rail, said member having a plurality of screw-threaded opening arranged in vertical. series, a yoke at.- tached to the bight portion of the raileengaging member, a bolt passing looselythrough said yoke and engaging the screw-threads of one of said apertures, and a wedge engageable between the outer face of the wheel clamp and the inner edge face of the bight portion of the raileug'aging member and movable downward to force, the wheel clamp. into, engagement with the wheel and rail,

2. In a wheel clamp, of the character described, rail-engaging member adapted to rest upon the head of a rail on each side of a wheel and engage over this head, a wheel clamp en ged by the rail-engaging member and having an upper aw adapted to engage overthe rim of a wheel and a lower j awadapted to extend beneath the head of a rail,- means for forcing the wheel clamp inward against, the wheel and rail. and a block having a plurality ofstepped faces, the block beingadjustably mounted upon the upper face of the lower jaw to permit any one of theplurality of faces of the block to be brought in engagement with the under face of the, rail head.

3. In a wheel clamp ofthe character de scribed, a rail-engaging member adapted to rest upon the head of a rail on each side of a wheel and engage 'over this head, a, wheel; clamp engaged by the rail-engaging member and having an upper jaw adapted .to engage over the rim of a wheel and a lower jaw adapted to extend beneath the head of a rail, means for forcing the wheel clamp inward against the wheel and rail, and a block having a plurality of stepped faces, the block being adjustably mounted, upon the upper face of the lower. jaw to, permit any one of the facesto be brought in. engagement with the under faceof therail head, said block being pivoted upon the lowervj aw and being cruciform inplan view to provide, in conjunction with the. upper face of; the lower jaw, four faces at different-elevations.

4. A car wheel clamping device of the character described, including a substantially bowed rail-engaging member having downwardly turned extremities adapted to engage over the inner margin of the head ofa rail,

and provided at its middle with an eye extending at right angles to the length of the member, a wheel-clamping member adapted to be disposed at right angles to the middle of the rail-engaging member and inward of the same, the wheel-engaging member having an angularly bent jaw at its upper end engageable over a wheel rim and an angularly bent jaw at its lower end adapted to extend beneath the head of a rail and be operatively engaged therewith, a connecting member engaged with the rail-engaging member and extending loosely through said eye, and a wedge adjustable vertically between the wheel-engaging member and the middle of the rail-engaging member to force the wheelengaging member inward and the rail-engaging member outward.

5. A car wheel clamping device of the character described, including a substantially bowed rail-engaging member having downwardly turned extremities adapted to engage over the inner margin of the head of a rail, and provided at its middle with an eye extending at right angles to the length of the member, a wheel-clamping member adapted to be disposed at right angles to the middle of the rail-engaging member and inward of the same, the wheel-engaging member having an angularly bent jaw at its upper end engageable over a wheel rim and an angularly bent jaw at its lower end adapted to extend beneath the head of a rail and be operatively engaged therewith, a connecting member engaged with the rail-em gaging member and extending loosely through said eye, and a wedge adjustable vertically between the wheel-engaging member and the middle of the rail-engaging member to force the wheel-engaging member inward and the rail-engaging member outward, the wedge being longitudinally slotted to embrace the connecting member and the eye being Vertically elongated to permit the connecting member to have relative vertical movement.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifix my signature.

THOMAS C. BRASEL. 

